Shania Twain, the only woman brave enough to say that Brad Pitt doesn't impress her much, had the world on her feet back in the late 90s. The country singer had sold 75 million albums worldwide and won five Grammy Awards. But just as she was about to achieve more, multiple tragedies in her personal life suddenly came... all hitting her at once.
In 2017, Shania released her comeback album Triumphant with a literally new voice. But it wasn't easy getting back on the saddle again. Here's what country music's best-selling female artist had to endure to get back into music.
What Forced Shania Twain To Go Into A 15-Year Hiatus
In 2003, Shania's health started rapidly declining. What started out as fatigue turned out to be a serious disease that would eventually cause her to lose her voice. "I couldn't call out for the dog. I wasn't heard very well on the phone. I couldn't speak in loud environments," said the country singer on Variety's The Big Ticket podcast.
Shania was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2010, several years after doctors constantly told her that losing her voice was probably just psychological. "I saw a tick fall off me," Shania told The Independent. "I was on tour, so I almost fell off the stage every night. I was very, very dizzy and didn’t know what was going on. It’s just one of those things you don’t suspect."
The disease damaged Shania's vocal cords, a side effect that naturally manifests years after catching the tick-borne bacterial infection. Formally called dysphonia, this vocal cord muscle paralysis prompted Shania to stop performing. She said she didn't want to humiliate herself.
Dealing With Vocal Cord Damage And Broken Marriage At The Same Time
In the same year she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, Shania Twain's husband and record producer, Robert John 'Mutt' Lange was involved in a cheating scandal. Robert was revealed to be having an affair with Shania's best friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud, who was initially hired by the couple to look after their 46-room chateaux in the Swiss town of Corseaux.
"I was ready to do something desperate, but in reality, there was nothing to do but to suffer through it," Shania wrote in her 2011 memoir, From This Moment On. "I was disgusted that another woman's lust for a lifestyle upgrade was worth the devastation of my family."
Robert and Marie-Anne are reportedly still together and living in the same Swiss town as Shania and her current husband, Frédéric Thiébaud. In an unexpected twist, Shania ended up remarrying Marie-Anne's ex-husband. What a small Swiss town that must be...
How Her Intense Open-Throat Surgery Went
Shania Twain had to undergo two surgeries to get her voice back. "What they do is they put little Gore-Tex braces on either side of your larynx to make up for the weakness of the nerves," the country singer explained. She got her voice back in 2012 and immediately jumped on her two-year residency in Las Vegas, Still the One. She also went on her Rock This Country Tour in 2015. It was a nationwide triumph.
In 2019, Shania did her second Vegas residency, Let's Go!. It was supposed to go on until December 2020, but the pandemic put a halt to the tour in March 2020. Nowadays, Shania is enjoying her independence in writing her own songs. She also considers herself lucky these days since she gets to spend a lot of time with her husband Frédéric at their home in Switzerland.